hooking sardines

How do you guys stop sardines from flying off your rig when casting.Havnt really used them as a bait as they are very soft and would probably put them on frozen but when they are thawed is there any way to keep them on the hooks,pva tape maybe?

One way is to hook the Sardine as normal though the wrist on the tail (you could put on a bait flag that helps) and down the flank.

Then put a loop of line though the eyes then put the loop on a casting clip next to the weight.

or use bait elastic. I use ghost cocoon, excellent stuff.

A couple of small cable ties (make sure u hoop em over the spine and not the belly) 1 just after the tail root hook and the 2nd jus before the hook in the flank usually does it for me but even then I still only only ever fish em reasonably close in.

I put top treble through the tail bone and first one in the flank, usually good for a few casts. Likes been mentioned, when using soft baits elastic is a good idea or a loop of line half hitched round the tail and attached to a bait clip......

fox deadbait casting clips cast them as hard as you want brilliant bit of kit if you do it correctly

go on you tube look at foxs guide to pike fishing with matt hayes and max cottis some good tips on there it shows you how to set it up
in detail  

i use them frozen and at the price they are in supermarkets i just put a new frozen bait on each time,, i put the one i've wound in back in the freezer box and after an hour its ready for using again or i rip em up and throw them in as attractors

always cast my frozen, dont bother with any of this tie on gimmicks (work or not work) ive never had an issue...

with the softer sardines, i always place one in the margins

there sometimes is an advantage at fishing a soft bait at very long range I was just trying to explain how you can cast a soft bait a long way with out it flying off.....no gimmicks just a good idea

even when cast out frozen , yes you can cast them a fair way out , but when you reel them back in they can fall apart and come off

then the pike eats that on not your bait with the hooks in ......just a theory

I use the small atlantic mackerel if I want to wack a bait out at distance, but you can use the same technique for soft fish like sardines and sprats etc.

First get some of the long narrow solid pva bags and drip a small amount of oil inside one then rub it around so that the inside of the bag is coated. It doesent have to be a huge amount of oil just enough to coat the inside to stop the ice/moisture from your bait degrading the pva from the inside out, next I slide my lead in then the mackerel head first, I tie off the bag with a pva cable tie so the cable tie is around the wrist of the tail fin.

this can be cast a considerable distance and because there is some air inside the bag the whole lot sinks quite slowly and rests on top of any bottom detritus/weed etc.

I know it sounds messy and fiddly but once you've done it a few times its quite easy.

matt859 wrote:I use the small atlantic mackerel if I want to wack a bait out at distance, but you can use the same technique for soft fish like sardines and sprats etc.

First get some of the long narrow solid pva bags and drip a small amount of oil inside one then rub it around so that the inside of the bag is coated.  It doesent have to be a huge amount of oil just enough to coat the inside to stop the ice/moisture from your bait degrading the pva from the inside out, next I slide my lead in then the mackerel head first, I tie off the bag with a pva cable tie so the cable tie is around the wrist of the tail fin.

this can be cast a considerable distance and because there is some air inside the bag the whole lot sinks quite slowly and rests on top of any bottom detritus/weed etc.

I know it sounds messy and fiddly but once you've done it a few times its quite easy.

sounds like a great solution to an age old problem mate well done

matt859 wrote:I use the small atlantic mackerel if I want to wack a bait out at distance, but you can use the same technique for soft fish like sardines and sprats etc.

First get some of the long narrow solid pva bags and drip a small amount of oil inside one then rub it around so that the inside of the bag is coated.  It doesent have to be a huge amount of oil just enough to coat the inside to stop the ice/moisture from your bait degrading the pva from the inside out, next I slide my lead in then the mackerel head first, I tie off the bag with a pva cable tie so the cable tie is around the wrist of the tail fin.

this can be cast a considerable distance and because there is some air inside the bag the whole lot sinks quite slowly and rests on top of any bottom detritus/weed etc.

I know it sounds messy and fiddly but once you've done it a few times its quite easy.

Loads easier with a baitboat

Ash morton wrote:

matt859 wrote:I use the small atlantic mackerel if I want to wack a bait out at distance, but you can use the same technique for soft fish like sardines and sprats etc.

First get some of the long narrow solid pva bags and drip a small amount of oil inside one then rub it around so that the inside of the bag is coated.  It doesent have to be a huge amount of oil just enough to coat the inside to stop the ice/moisture from your bait degrading the pva from the inside out, next I slide my lead in then the mackerel head first, I tie off the bag with a pva cable tie so the cable tie is around the wrist of the tail fin.

this can be cast a considerable distance and because there is some air inside the bag the whole lot sinks quite slowly and rests on top of any bottom detritus/weed etc.

I know it sounds messy and fiddly but once you've done it a few times its quite easy.

Loads easier with a baitboat

The wonders of modern fishing... , but you are right

the old balloon trick works  , floating out an balloon with your bait just underneath with lead attached. but you need the wind on your back

then snatch if off the paperclip  at the desired range ,  used to do this years ago on a mere  where you only got a bite at range. just incase bait boats are not allowed on your water.......a lot cheaper than a bait boat and a less to carry

I found the same problems as the op, I tackled it by attaching my bottom treble to the hard cheek of the sardine or up through its head from the bottom. the second treble being attached to the flank. this works for me and I've found that it's good for 2 maybe 3 casts.
[ have to admit to not casting to the horizon though - I'm really more interested in margin/medium range stuff ]

Trevski wrote:I found the same problems as the op, I tackled it by attaching my bottom treble to the hard cheek of the sardine or up through its head from the bottom. the second treble being attached to the flank. this works for me and I've found that it's good for 2 maybe 3 casts.
[ have to admit to not casting to the horizon though - I'm really more interested in margin/medium range stuff ]

I usually do the same Trevski. This is why they are not in my list of favourite baits.

Andy